


Can't Go Back

by Whedonista93



Category: Captain America (Movies), Firefly, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Serenity (2005), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, Post Infinity War, Stark Industries, pre endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 16:17:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18694978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whedonista93/pseuds/Whedonista93
Summary: Darcy gets sent into the future before the Snap, but manages to find her way home.*Way less angsty than the title and summary make it sound*





	Can't Go Back

 

“Miss Lewis?”

Darcy turns away from the window toward the voice and smiles. “Miss Sera.”

“Inara, please.”

“Only if you call me Darcy.”

“Very well, Darcy.”

Darcy eyes the Companion in front of her, nothing the tension in her shoulders the other woman rarely lets show. “Is everything alright?”

Inara nods tightly. “Walk with me?”

Darcy takes the arm the other woman offers and lets herself be led to a waterfall near the edge of the gardens and plops herself down on the rocks at the edge. “Alright, what the hell is going on?”

“There’s a good chance I’m leaving, soon, and I want you to come with me.”

Darcy gapes. “What?”

Inara’s hands flex in her lap. “The man that arrived yesterday.”

“Tall, dark, and creepy?”

Inara almost smiles. “Yes, him. He’s… well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what or who he is, but he’s dangerous, and he’s after people that matter to me.”

“You’re going back to them to let him chase the whole lot of you?”

Inara shakes her head. “I’m not planning on it, precisely, but Mal is… well, he’s an idiot. He’ll come try to rescue me.”

“And you want me to go with you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because while it would technically put you on the run from the Alliance, it would also protect you, and I’ve grown to care for you as well.”

Darcy’s lips quirk in an almost smile. “The Guild is going to realize soon that my records are forged.”

“Yes. And… I don’t want to see something like what happened to River happen to you.”

“River?”

Inara smiles softly. “A very special girl, who has had a very hard life thanks to the Alliance.”

Darcy nods slowly.

“Besides, I believe you’d be an asset to the crew. You’re smart, you can handle people in a way most of them could never dream of. And you can fight, so they wouldn’t have to worry about taking you out on jobs.”

Darcy grins. “You’re trying to turn me into a criminal?”

Inara smirks back. “Aren’t you already?”

Darcy snorts. “Fair.”

“Alright, so how is this going to work?”

“You’ll have to stay with me. Constantly. I don’t know when Mal will come, but he will. We have to be ready when he does.”

***

A tall guy with a big gun leers as soon as Darcy steps off the shuttle. “Who’s the tail?”

Darcy leers back and he grins.

Inara glares at Jayne while speaking to Darcy. “The oaf with no manners is Jayne.”

Darcy smirks. “Manners are no fun.”

Mal turns to Inara. “What fresh hell did you just bring onto my ship?”

As soon as they’re safely into the black, they convene in a sort of lounge for a crew meeting of sorts.

Darcy whistles sharply when Jayne and Mal start arguing and everyone around the room silences. “I think we need to consider a different approach.”

“We?” Simon all but screeches. “Who are you again?”

“My friend,” Inara informs him coldly.

Darcy’s always had a soft spot for brainy types, but the doc is tap dancing on her last nerve.

“He’s a boob,” River informs her. “And he can’t dance.”

Darcy cocks her head toward the girl. “Psychic?”

River shrugs.

“Don’t go poking around my head if you can help it. Won’t do anything but give you a headache.”

River grimaces. “Too late. Dust on the wind and holes in space… no way back. Can’t figure the numbers. Tried.”

Darcy’s world momentarily stops spinning.

River frowns. “Sorry.”

Darcy breathes. “Not your fault.”

“Anyone care to share with the rest of the group?”

Darcy blows out a breath. “I’m not… short version is that I’m not from here and you wouldn’t believe me if I old you where I was from. And your little genius over here just confirmed that there’s no going back home. I’ve suspected for a while, but… confirmation opens up a whole new world.”

“What’s your new angle?” Zoe asks, steering them back to the topic of how to escape the Operative without anyone dying.

Darcy drums her fingers on the table, considering one final time, because this is the last thing she has left to lose. “Does Stark Industries exist here?”

Confusion crosses most faces. The shepherd looks at her shrewdly. Simon looks surprised.

Darcy raises an eyebrow. “Doc?”

“The people who helped me rescue River from the Academy said they worked for Stark Industries.”

“Know how to find them?”

Simon shakes his head. “They contacted me. Cut all ties once the job was done.”

“Anybody else?”

“There should be contact information on the Cortex,” Book offers. “Stark Industries is not secret, just… subtle. They are possibly the last serious threat to the Alliance in the ‘Verse.”

Zoe stands up straighter. “What kind of threat?”

“They far outstrip the Alliance in wealth and technology, but they lack the numbers, and apparently the motivation, to overthrow the Alliance’s power. They do, however, keep them off balance.”

Darcy hums thoughtfully. “How do we find them?”

“Why would we find them?” Wash asks.

“Contact information is great, but I need a base. A physical building where I can get to their computers,” Darcy explains.

Inara’s eyes widen in alarm. “Darcy! Book just said they outstrip Alliance technology. What good would getting to their computers do?”

“A lot.”

Book sighs. “They keep to Border planets. I know for certain they have a decent sized facility on Jiangyin.”

Mal puts up a token protest, but Darcy can already tell he’s going to give in.

A few days later, they’re hovering outside an entrance bay to the Stark facility, being greeted by an automated voice. “Firefly class, identify yourself.”

Mal looks at Darcy expectantly.

Darcy steps up the console and will her voice steady. “My name is Darcy. Is Friday there?”

A new automated voice, female and almost human, replaces the first immediately. “Miss Lewis?”

Darcy smiles and tension she hadn’t realized was there bleeds out of her. “Hey little sister.”

“Proceed to the landing bay.”

Wash guides the ship in smoothly.

Darcy is the only one who doesn’t hesitate to descend the ramp, and finds herself floating before she’s fully out the door. “What the -?”

“Anti-gravity,” Mal offers, floating up next to her.

Darcy groans. “Friday!”

A woman, fair-skinned and short with a dark bob cut and glowing blue eyes enters the bay, perfectly steady on her feet. When she opens her mouth, Friday’s voice comes out. “I apologize, Miss Lewis, but there is a procedure to follow. We must confirm you are you.”

Darcy gapes. “Friday?”

Friday smiles and nods. “Father built me a bod., before his time came. Not quite like Vision’s, but…”

Darcy smiles. “It suits you. Now, let’s get on with this so I can get my feet back on the ground, please?”

Friday strides forward until she can reach up and grab Darcy’s foot and brings her down to face level before holding out a StarkPad. “Your hand?”

Darcy lays her hand on the surface and a moment later it flashes green and the anti-gravity disengages. Friday catches her around the waist as she comes down, preventing her from crashing to the floor, but she winces as she hears the rest of the crew crash to the floor. She grins when Jayne comes back up cursing.

“Darcy.” Mal’s tone is full of warning.

Darcy steps back, maintaining her own balance, and turns back toward the crew with a jaunty little wave. “Hi, I’m Darcy Lewis. And I kind of own Stark Industries. At least I’m guessing I do. I don’t know if Dad had any other kids after I ended up here.”

“You do. And he did not. I have run the company in the absence of blood, but I shall be glad to hand the reins over.” Friday smiles at her. “Welcome home. How, though?”

“Blood my ass, Friday. We’re Starks. Oil runs through our veins. But anyway,” Darcy shrugs. “Janey was playing with her wormholes and bridges. She squealed about something, and when I turned to look, she was turning into dust. Without her there to control the bridge she opened, I guess it kind of… sucked me in? And I’ve been here since, 500 years later in a world I wasn’t even sure was still mine. Almost a year now.”

Friday’s face goes blank. “Dust?”

Darcy nods.

“The Snap. We just assumed… we thought you died. Turned into dust with Jane.”

“Snap?”

Friday nods. “Thanos. He was, well, an alien. He thought the population was too much of a strain on the universe sought power until he had enough to correct the problem he saw. He destroyed half the universe. The problem was, he just destroyed half of everything, didn’t particularly care which half. Less than twenty years later we had to start evacuating Earth. So many scientists and environmentalists and the like died in the Snap… we just used up the Earth faster than it could heal itself with no one to keep us in check and help the planet along.”

“Please tell me someone killed the bastard.”

Friday nods again. “Those of the Avengers who lived faced him together and defeated him.” The AI’s expression softens. “Father and the Captain fought side by side, in that battle and many following, until Father’s death.”

Darcy has to blink away tears. “Of course it would take something like that for those bastards to make up.”

Friday wraps an arm around her shoulders. “They fought well.”

“They always did.”

Friday’s expression brightens. “Some still do.”

Before Darcy can question her, a familiar voice comes from the far end of the bay. “Darcy?”

Darcy spins away from Friday and freezes at the sight of the figure in the doorway. “Steve?”

Friday leans close to whisper. “The serum. He hasn’t aged since he came out of the ice.”

That’s all Darcy needs to sprint across the space between them.

Steve meets her halfway and lifts her straight off the ground.

She buries her face in his neck and wraps her arms around his shoulders.

He buries his face in her hair, arms tight around her middle. “Thought I lost you, doll. You can’t even imagine. Tony and I got the fuck over ourselves, but you were still gone and… five hundred years is a long time to be lonely, doll.”

Darcy pulls her head back to look him in the eyes. “Five - you haven’t been with  _ anyone  _ since me?”

Steve shrugs and blushes. “You’re a hell of an act to follow, Darce.” Horror washes across his face and he tried to set her back on her feet. “If you’ve moved on, I-”

Darcy wraps her legs around his waist and silences him with her lips. She kisses him until the need to breathe takes over. “It’s barely been a year for me, asshole. And you’re an  _ impossible _ act to follow, Mr. Super Soldier.”

Steve’s whole posture slumps in relief. “Oh, thank God.”

“Speaking of gods, Thor?”

Steve nods. “Alive and well.”

Darcy melts against him. “Good.”

A throat clears loudly behind her.

“Shit. Okay, as great as this is, I have something to take care of.”

Steve grudgingly sets her on her feet, but tucks a finger into her belt loop and shadows her back across the bay.

“Friday, I need three things, little sister.”

Friday lifts her StarkPad expectantly.

Darcy ticks off fingers as she goes. “In order of importance: One, every teensy bit of information you have on a planet called Miranda. Two, a Cortex link to the Operative hunting the ship I came in on. Three, reunion party with any of my peeps that are still around… and any new ones I should meet.”

“Miranda’s out past Reaver territory,” Steve offers. “We found it a few years ago. Naturally sustainable. Basically a new earth. That’s where our main base is now. New Asgard has a settlement there too. Alliance tried some hinky shit there before we found it, though.”

“What kind of hinky?” Darcy asks.

The video Friday pulls up almost makes Darcy puke - it  _ does _ make River puke.

Darcy takes a deep breath. “Get me that Cortex link.” She looks around the bay. “And a more impressive background.”

Friday leads the group down a labyrinth of halls, tapping away at her StarkPad all the while, to a large conference room, the SI logo displayed boldly against the wall behind the head of the table. Darcy shoves the chair aside and stands in front of it as Friday initiates the Cortex link.

The Operative’s face fills the screen in front of her. “You are Miss Serra’s companion. I must admit I am surprised at you reaching out. And I do not surprise easily, Miss…”

“Stark,” Darcy answers shortly.

The Operative’s eye flick over her shoulder.

Darcy smirks when he meets her eyes again. “Now, we’re going to get a couple things straight.  _ This _ is what was hidden in River Tam’s head,” she nods to Friday, who brings a copy of the video up on the screen. She gives him a few minutes to watch it. “Now it’s out of her head, and I’m sending it out across every wave it’ll catch. River is no longer a problem. Come after her and I will end you. Go after any of Serenity’s allies, and I will end you. The Alliance ever tries anything like this, or what they did to River again, I will bring it crashing and burning to the ground. All that clear?”

The Operative offers a tight nod.

Darcy beams. “Fantastic. You have fun relaying that to your bosses. I’m gonna go see if I can find my taser, do very dirty things to a former national icon, and have a party. Maybe not necessarily in that order. Toodles,” Darcy waggles her fingers. The screen goes blank.


End file.
